GO NINERS! UNDEFEATED & COUNTING!

We made the 112 mile trek to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara to watch our beloved San Francisco Forty-Niners play the Carolina Panthers yesterday. They had started the season 6-0 with some promising new players reminding us a little of the beginning of our "Team of the 80s".

After a slightly harrowing morning commuting we arrived at our seats with about 20 minutes to spare before kickoff. They were giving away George Kittle bobbleheads to the first 30,000 fans & we managed to snag ours - barely. 

The tunnel through which our Niners would emerge for the player introductions.

This is defensive back, Richard Sherman, high fiving his teammates as he takes the field.

This was an interesting way to display what was supposed to represent our American flag while the National Anthem was performed. 

The gentleman who sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the scoreboard screen.

Our plan was to drive the 112 miles to Hayward then take the train the remaining 25 miles to the stadium. It was the worst day of high winds & fire danger in a season of many such days. Downed trees across the freeway & new fires that closed highways slowed us up but we managed to make it to catch the train on time - which was then delayed 1/2 hour.

I'm going to hop up on my soapbox for a minute here. Rather I will step carefully onto it holding the handrail. P.G.&E. has turned off the electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers for days at a time recently. My sister has been without power twice - they live in the foothills & rely on electricity to operate their well for water. It has been a nightmare for them storing enough water for their horses, other animals & themselves, not to mention trying to keep food from spoiling & living in the dark. Gas stations are closed along with many grocery stores that are without power.

P.G.&E. insists this is necessary for "public safety". BUT they are causing more hardship & major problems for customers trying to live without electricity. All while really just wanting to cover their ass from more lawsuits. They should have been upgrading their antiquated systems for many years. AND even with all these intentional power outages, much of California is on fire! It isn't working!

I have two suggestions. One, let's get some companies to compete with them & offer better service (Sacramento has its own electrical company). And, two, get your shit together P.G.&E.  Okay, back to the game yesterday.

The view from our semi-nosebleed seats. We were up high in the corner but you can still see the action reasonably well. I like attending a game once in awhile because you can watch whatever part of the field you want rather than just the focus of the play that you see on TV.

The Niners first touchdown was down at our end of the field so we had a great view of the first of many TDs! If you click on this photo to enlarge it you can see the football in midair on its way to the quarterback.

Our quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, number 10, leading the offense just the way I hoped when we traded for him the year before last. He looked really promising but then was injured & missed most of last year. That's George Kittle, number 85, in the lower right corner. Supposedly, the bobblehead is a facsimile of him.

Our Niners played a great game beating Carolina 51-13. Lots of fun for our fans, not so much for the few Panther fans! We remain undefeated for the year joining only the New England Patriots with no losses so far.

We were likely bordering on bugging the poor guy behind us to take photos but he was a good sport. It was Alumni Day so Lou wore his Joe Montana shirt. I had splurged on a Jimmy Garoppolo shirt since he's looking so good. We had the old & the new covered!

Even from the upper deck my high zoom camera makes the action look up close & personal.

Part of the Alumni Day ceremony during halftime. Unfortunately the huge stars like Joe Montana or Jerry Rice weren't present but there were still some familiar names from days gone by.

Yep, 51-13! Woo Hoo!  Tevin Coleman scored 4 touchdowns. Nick Bosa had 3 sacks & 1 interception. Everyone did their job well making for a big win. There were very few penalties which is always nice. It was 13 hours from the time we left our house in the morning until we returned that evening - a long, but REALLY FUN day!

BATS & CAVES & ALIENS - OH, MY!

It is hard to believe but our Charley Ellen will be 8 years old in just a couple weeks! Since she had a couple days off school, we celebrated with an overnight road trip to Carlsbad Caverns National Park & Roswell in southeast New Mexico for her "Early Birthday".

What a couple of cuties ready to light the candles & sing Happy Birthday. Daddy did a great job decorating the cake!

My largest suitcase was filled with gifts from us & my sister. This Barbie car was one of her favorites. But, of course, it was filled with Monster High ghouls. That's Draculaura driving with her father, Count Dracula, holding her little sister, Fangelica, on his lap. The one in the back sitting on the coffin (full of their accessories) is Elisabat, one of her new birthday ghouls. They were ready for the road trip, too!

Charley in the back seat with her car full of ghouls & her sleeping buddies. The iPad loaded with shows & movies was in the holder on the back of the front seat. On the floor was a shopping bag full of lunch & snacks as well as another one that she packed herself with whatever she needed to bring. We were ready to hit the road!

It took us five hours (with bathroom breaks) to reach the caverns from Albuquerque. Charley was a real trooper on this road trip. After finally arriving we talked to the ranger to get the "lay of the land" & decided to hike the Natural Entrance trail down into the Big Room. The trail is 1-1/4 miles long & descends 800 feet into the cave via a series of many switchbacks.

We made it! 

The Bat Flight Amphitheater where the ranger talk is held each evening from May - October. That dark square in the middle of the photo is the natural entrance to the cave.

Darrin & Charley just before starting down into the natural entrance behind them.

Gaga & Charley part way down into Carlsbad Caverns - before I knew what we were getting into.

Most of my photos inside the cave weren't the best given that the lighting was low & I soon realized a few things I had not anticipated. The cave is a cool 56 degrees BUT there is 90% humidity. My glasses & camera lens were almost constantly fogged up - AND I was sweating even more than when I was in Kauai! My hair was literally drenched & dripping down my head! Darrin & Charley zipped right down the trail with little problem but Gaga's legs were exhausted & shaking so I sent them on ahead while I took my time. And there was no way I was allowing anymore photos of me until I dried out.

This photo was taken from the spot where Charley & I were sitting in the above picture. You can see the steep switchbacks that lead into the cave. These were just the beginning of lots & lots & lots of switchbacks.

One of the columns that were created over thousands or millions of years - not sure how many.

This is part of a small river that flows inside the cave. It is near where the bats sleep during the day but the ranger told us there isn't nearly enough water for the vast number of bats to drink.

After finally reaching the end of our trek, we were greeted by a gift shop, restrooms, a small cafe & the elevators that took us 800 feet back up to the visitor center - probably not the best way to preserve the natural beauty of the caverns.

All three of us agreed that the evening bat flight was the highlight of our trip. A little before dusk the park ranger begins a talk about the hundreds of thousands of bats that live in the cave - yes, you read that right, HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS! We were instructed to power off all electronic devices - phones, cameras, tablets & not take any photos or talk once the flight began since the noises can confuse & distract the bats causing them to possibly find other homes.

When the bats began to emerge it was incredible! For over 20 minutes there was a constant stream of bats flying all around as they took off to find water & food - each bat can eat hundreds of small insects a day. Even the small children were quiet. We were all mesmerized as thousands & thousands of these amazing creatures filled the evening sky. It was a spectacle that I highly recommend seeing if you ever get the chance.

This is a photo from the National Park Service website showing the sky filled with bats. But even the beautiful sunset & countless bats in the picture can't come close to witnessing the flight in person.

We arrived at our hotel in Carlsbad about 8:30 PM ready for a good night's sleep after a long but really fun day. Following breakfast the next morning we started the trek back to Albuquerque making a stop in Roswell at the International UFO Museum.

The entire town of Roswell seems to be enamored of all things alien. There are little green men in front of gas stations & signs with various versions of aliens adorning them. Even the street lights are decorated to look like aliens.

The International UFO Museum & Research Center is located in an old theater on Main Street.

While the museum would like to take itself seriously, I got the impression that tackiness was a big part of the whole thing. An example is this scene with a couple of cutout aliens to take your photo with in front of the museum.

In the summer of 1947, a rancher discovered unidentifiable debris in his sheep pasture outside Roswell, New Mexico. Although officials from the local Air Force base asserted that it was a crashed weather balloon, many people believed it was the remains of an extraterrestrial flying saucer. Darrin believes it was some secret testing of experimental military equipment & it made a good story for those who wanted to believe it.

The interior of the International UFO Museum. If they really believe this was a "flying saucer" then wouldn't it no longer be a UFO since that means "Unidentified Flying Object" & it has now been identified? Just a question that comes to mind.

The three of us with our alien friends & their "flying saucer" behind us.

This is the scene behind us in the above photo. Every so often the spaceship spins, smoke pours out of it & colors flash. IMHO nothing convinced me that aliens have indeed landed here in our country. But they had some pretty gruesome & crazy displays throughout the museum.

ROAD TRIP! Utah, Colorado & Wyoming

We headed out on our recent road trip September 3 with a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah. Our first stop was Park City on the way to Vernal, Utah. We were planning just a quick stop but ended up having such a fun time at Olympic Park that we stayed for several hours.

Both Lou & I are sports nuts, but Darrin & I are Olympic junkies. Every two years we are glued to the TV until all hours of the night. The Park City Olympic Park was almost like a mini Disneyland for me. To our surprise there was a competition of aerial skiers at the park. One guy from the last Winter Olympics was competing. 

In order to practice during the summer months, they have built a ramp that allows the skiers to do all their twists & turns in the air before landing in a pool.

There was a great museum commemorating the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City & Park City as well as a lot of history of Utah athletes. The Olympic bobsled run gives rides to the public in the winter months. That is something I've always wanted to do so we may make our way back early next year & do it!

Downtown Park City looked like a fun little town but we only had time for a drive down Main Street. If we make it back for a bobsled run, we will definitely enjoy the sights.

Day Two was devoted to exploring Dinosaur National Monument which occupies part of both Utah & Colorado. The huge concentration of dinosaur fossils is just part of the park.

From the visitor center you are taken by tram about 1/4 mile to this building, the Quarry Exhibit Hall, which is built over a huge wall filled with dinosaur fossils. There are over 1500 fossils embedded in the rocks which are now protected by the building.

This is a tiny area of bones in the large wall of fossils. The rangers are available to answer questions & give short talks. In 1909, paleontologist Earl Douglass was searching for fossils for Carnegie Museum. He discovered this place layered with prehistoric plant & animal fossils.

I zoomed way in to show this preserved head of an ancient dinosaur. The ranger explained that there are few heads because the skulls are much more delicate than the leg or back bones.

This gives you an idea of the size of these bones next to my 6'3" guy. It was a fascinating place & I highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance. 

Utah definitely has some of the most scenic landscapes in our country. Dinosaur National Monument has some striking scenery as you drive around the park - some of the roads are dirt or gravel. Fortunately, the weather was good for us since some of the park can be impassable at times.

Box Canyon in a remote area of Dinosaur National Monument. We did a short half mile hike to the end of the canyon.

In 1914, Josie Morris moved here & lived alone with no running water or electricity for 50 years. This cabin, built in 1934, was where she lived off the land until age 81 when a fall resulting in a broken hip ultimately ended her life in 1964. She did have friends who checked on her periodically & helped her with large projects. She kept her livestock in Box Canyon, raised chickens & devised a way to channel rain water into barrels. I'm amazed, Josie - but , no frickin' way!

It is believed that the Fremont Native American people created these petroglyphs 10,000 years ago in what is now part of Dinosaur National Monuments. I thought this looked like one of the first still life works of art - a vase with flowers carved on the rocks.

The rocky landscapes were stunning as we drove the roads in the park. I particularly like this photo with all the colors & shapes of the rocks.

Both Lou & I thought, "Are we back in Kauai?" This canyon reminded us of Waimea Canyon that we visited in July. It never ceases to amaze what there is to see in this incredible country of ours.

I believe this is goldenrod in the foreground but I could be wrong.

We awoke early to hit the road to Cheyenne - Wyoming's State Capitol. We have been on a mini quest to see all 50 state capitols. The two on this trip were Lou's 49th & 50th! I have 3 more to go.

The Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne.

The historic Supreme Court chamber which was the site of important Women's Suffrage events in 1869. Women were given the rights to vote, control property, work in a trade & control their own earnings. This became a positive example for all of the United States of America.

Several stops were made at Lincoln Highway monuments or attractions along the way. Since that is Lou's "thing", not really mine, I chose to focus more on the amazing scenery & places we encountered. If you want to see photos of Lincoln Highway sights, check out Lou's Facebook page.

The Governor's Mansion in downtown Cheyenne.

The Union Pacific Railroad Depot now houses a railroad museum. They had these huge painted cowboy boot statues throughout the city.

We stayed at The Plains Hotel in the middle of downtown Cheyenne. It was a fun place to stay & I had one of my best meals on this trip in their restaurant - salmon stuffed with crab & garlic mashed potatoes - delicious!

The Ames Monument marks the highest point of the Union Pacific Railroad which came from the east to complete the Transcontinental Railroad (which has since been relocated). It is dedicated to the Ames Brothers who were instrumental in making that a reality. We drove two miles on a dirt road to reach this in the middle of nowhere - literally.

Driving across southern Wyoming our first stop was the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Park in Laramie. Their most famous inmate was Butch Cassidy. Not sure if that was before or after his association with the Sundance Kid.

This is a recreation of the Wyoming Territorial Prison which was built in 1872. It served as a federal penitentiary until 1890 when it became a state prison until 1901. Butch Cassidy spent 1-1/2 years here beginning in 1894. 

The three story cell blocks did not look like a fun place to live. At most the prison had a capacity of housing 150 inmates.

Apparently the main job for inmates who followed the rules was making brooms in the workshop.

Looking at the blue sky in the above photos, it's hard to believe that this was a few hours down the road as we encountered heavy rains, thunder & lightning.

There was so much gorgeous scenery that we passed on this trip I must have taken 100 shots of breathtaking mountains, rivers, trees & clouds.  I could include 30 scenic pictures but narrowed it down to keep from boring you to tears with beautiful landscapes.

Another drive down a dirt/gravel road ended at this river. The ruins of Fort Steele were along the banks. When this train passed I took this photos & it is one of my favorites on the whole trip.

This was near a Pony Express stop in Utah close to the Wyoming border.

These mini sunflowers were everywhere along the roads. I asked about them & a woman said they are called "mulliens". They are basically large weeds (about 3-6 feet tall). She said that two weeks prior there weren't any & they came out almost overnight. I thought they were really pretty so I guess we were lucky.

This strange formation called Devil's Slide is along I-84 on the way to Ogden. An old man at a visitor center said he was told as a child that the devil would slide down into the river (not visible in this photo) to take a bath every night. I needed some blue sky but unfortunately it was overcast.

Our first stop in Ogden, Utah, was the Union Station. Finally, we had arrived early to our hotel for some much needed kick back time only to find that our room wasn't ready at 4:20 PM! Check in was 3 PM & I was not a happy camper. They rushed the housekeeper & we checked in at quarter to five.

After lunch & before attempting to check into our hotel, we visited the Union Station which now houses five different museums - a transcontinental railroad museum, a cowboy museum, a car museum, an art museum & a firearms museum. They are all pretty small so it was easy to see everything in a couple hours.

There were several full size horse statues painted with bright colors & crazy designs such as this one with a dinosaur on the side.

The Utah State Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

An exhibit at the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum.

The Golden Spike National Historic Park was the inspiration for this trip. The 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad this past May motivated us to make this trip. When we discovered that the Wyoming Capitol & the Timpanagos Cave were both closed due to renovations, we postponed it until September. It was a good thing, the ranger said they had over 20,000 visitors on the actual day in May. Normally, they have 60,000 visitors in a year.

The Golden Spike National Historic Site in Promontory, Utah, is the point where the Central Pacific & Union Pacific Railroads met to complete the Transcontinental Railroad. You can see the tracks behind these bushes.

 

The gold board is the spot where the golden spike was driven into the final tie to complete the railroad across the United States.

The Jupiter that came from Sacramento was a wood burning steam engine.

The coal burning steam engine #119 arrived from the east. The Golden Spike NHS brought out both engines from their roundhouse to take their places just as they did back in 1869 when they first met here.

We didn't realize that we would be able to see both engines arrive in a recreation ceremony that took approximately an hour to complete. That's the Jupiter on the left & #119 on the right.

There are two gravel drives of several miles that follow the bed of the original railroad which has since been relocated. There are markers along the drive that correspond to a pamphlet with interesting facts & thoughts on the railroad construction.

The Chinese Arch has been designated as a memorial to the Chinese workers whose strength & stamina contributed to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

It was on to Salt Lake City for a tour of Lou's last capitol building & a visit to Temple Square. A friend commented that Temple Square was "the land of the Stepford people. Can anyone be that nice?" She was right, I've never experienced such helpful, friendly people - even when you really didn't want any or need any help.

The Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.

The interior of the Capitol building with its grand staircase.

The Beehive House on the corner of Temple Square. It was the home of Brigham Young & one of his 56 wives, Lucy Decker, & their 9 children. This was our first experience with the "Stepford people". Our tour guide was a good Mormon woman with 6 children & 21 grandchildren who was just as friendly & positive as could be. She had us believing that Brigham Young was a great guy who could do no wrong.

The gardens in Temple Square were magnificent. They were all carefully planned & maintained beautifully. There must have been a hundred flower gardens in the Square.

Flowers outside the Beehive House.

The Mormon Temple is the centerpiece of Temple Square.

And more flowers. I could have taken 50 photos of the amazing displays - hell, I did take 50 photos but am only sharing a few to give you an idea how prevalent the gardens were.

The Tabernacle in Temple Square was open to listen to a man playing the organ. You can see him lit by a bright light in the lower center of the picture. If you click on it to enlarge the photo, it might be a little clearer.

Our last full day was reserved for the Timpanagos Cave trek. The tour includes a 1-1/2 mile hike up the side of a mountain gaining 1092 feet in altitude followed by a half mile cave tour & the 1-1/2 mile hike back down to the visitor center. Knowing there was likely a better than even chance I would not make it, I made separate reservations so I could cancel mine if needed. My hip & feet were not cooperating with my brain. When I found out that the uphill hike started at 6000 feet & ended over 7000 feet, it was reality check time. I cancelled & spent a nice couple hours reading in the car while Lou made it with no problems. This getting old is a bitch!

Lou on his hike to Timpanagos Cave.

Following Lou's cave tour we drove the scenic highway that passes by Sundance Ski Resort & ends up in Orem, Utah, south of Salt Lake City.

There were aspen trees all over the mountain drive.

I'm not sure why but I really liked this photo with the bent gate, part of a wooden fence & a few purple thistles with aspen trees in the background.

As we approached Orem there was a lookout to view Bridal Veil Falls. Most of the places we stopped were windy & this was no different.

I learned not to believe advance weather reports on this trip. It showed no more than a 10% chance of rain & temperatures in the 80s or low 90s everywhere. Not! We planned to spend our last day on Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake since our flight didn't leave until 6:35 PM. With iffy weather Lou discovered Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden to take up the morning inside. It turned out to be a real trip down memory lane for me!

This is a 1918 Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny". My son, Darrin, did his first back loop in this exact plane when he was about 7 or 8! His father jumped from this aircraft at many airshows. We were good friends with Jim Nissen & his family who owned the Jenny & flew it at his airfield in Livermore. I had no idea it was at this museum but it seemed really familiar. I texted Darrin (who is now 43) but he didn't remember the number. As I read the information plaque I discovered it was indeed Jim Nissen's Jenny. Jim had passed away about 25 years ago & I never knew what happened to the plane. Now I do!

A display with an old-fashioned tower & a Stearman at Hill Aerospace Museum.

We stopped at a Subway & picked up some sandwiches for our last picnic on Antelope Island State Park. I had no idea there was a habitable island in Salt Lake, let alone that it turned out to be a great destination. It is 15 miles long & 5 miles wide. 

As we crossed the causeway to Antelope Island this is looking back towards Promontory Point on the mainland. People mistakenly believe that Promontory Point is where the railroad met but that was in Promontory about 30 miles north.

This is a statue of a mule deer which are on the island along with bison & pronghorn antelope. You can see the causeway crossing the Great Salt Lake from Ogden in the background.

The rugged terrain doesn't allow for roads to circumvent the entire island but there are a lot of hiking trails on the island.

A pronghorn antelope off the side of the road. This is Lou's photo - mine weren't quite as sharp.

Our high zoom cameras are a great asset for travel photography. This herd of bison were way off in the distance but I managed to zoom in for this picture. We saw a herd of mule deer, too, but they were even further away & I didn't get any good shots.